China Airlines Becomes First Airline to Display Carbon Footprint and Calories for In-flight Delicacies

2012-11-03 — /travelprnews.com/ — Starting from October 2012, China Airlines (CAL) flights from Taipei to Frankfurt will serve in-flight delicacies labelled with their carbon footprint and calorie content. The new initiative will rise environmental awareness of passengers by providing information on in-flight meals’ environmental and health effects. CAL is the first airline in the world to label carbon footprint and calorie content of its in-flight meals.

As an active supporter of eco-service, CAL uses mostly local ingredients in its in-flight meals to reduce CO2 emissions. Vegetarian meals are also offered through a partnership with the “Water Drop Teahouse” to help protect the environment and passenger health. In addition, in-flight meals are now labelled with their carbon footprint and calorie content. The service from Taipei to Frankfurt is currently served by an A340 in environmental protection livery. The aircraft is a participant in the Pacific Greenhouse Gases Measurement (PGGM) Program that helps fight global warming by collecting high-altitude air samples for international research. The decision to implement the new carbon footprint and calorie labelling initiative for in-flight meals on this route was therefore meaningful.

Carbon footprints of in-flight meals on CAL flights from Taipei to Frankfurt are calculated by the Industrial Technology Research Institute. “Authentic Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup” for business class and “Plain Omelette with Mini Sausage and Hash Brown” meals for economy class have mains that range between 0.43 ~ 3.52 KgCO2e in carbon emissions and 359.9 ~ 517 Kcal in calorie content. Passengers are therefore provided with environmental and health information while they enjoy their delicious meals. In the future, CAL will continue to refine and roll-out its new low-carbon menu on all routes.

At the same time, the economy class menu for the Taipei-Frankfurt service is now provided in electronic form. The business class menu is printed on 100% recyclable paper using eco-friendly soy ink. Green products are now extensively used aboard as well. Pillow slips and other on-board items have received green certification, mineral water uses lightweight packaging while the caps and bottle now use 32% and 45% less plastic respectively. Lightweight cutlery is now being introduced in economy class as well. For the 246 economy class seats on the Taipei-Frankfurt route, this means a saving of 13.7 kg in fuel and carbon emissions being reduced by 43 kg.

In 2011 CAL was presented with the Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Mark for outstanding performance by the Environmental Protection Administration in Taiwan. In 2012, CAL also won the “Super Green” Judge’s Award and the First Prize in the transportation category of the 3rd “2012 Top Green Brand Survey” conducted by the Business Next magazine. CAL has declared 2012 to be “Eco Year” in order to fulfil its corporate social responsibility and support sustainable development of the living environment. CAL also hopes that its green initiatives in the air will inspire everyone to be more environmentally aware and take part in the “Save the Planet through Environmental Protection” initiative.

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